good friday morning. coming up on "early today," two fronts combine to create an epic winter storm with over 50-mile-an-hour wind gusts and as much as two feet of snow. a massive manhunt is under way in california. a well-trained former cop and veteran is on a mission and police are pulling out all the stops to nail him. plus, senator feinstein anyway courts may set up special monitoring sites. and why apple is sitting on cash. and why an asteroid is coming close to earth. "early today" starts right now. >> announcer: this is "early today" for friday, february 8th, 2013.

good morning. i'm mara schiavocampo. millions along the northeast corridor are humpingering down for an epic winter storm. folks are stocking up and filling up their tanks in anticipation of the massive nor'easter packing blizzard speed winds and cripples feet of snow. airlines have already canceled thousands of flights as the storm comes across the country. nbc's meteorologist dylan dreyer is tracking the storm. >> the best part about it, it's happening today and into the weekend. a lot of schools already canceled up across massachusetts which is good because you don't want all those kids coming home as the start gets going. we mentioned it's two parts. here's part one back across the great lakes and you can see all of this moisture moving into virginia and north carolina. we have torrential downfalls right now.

you see new york city is at 33 degrees. that's going to be an area where we will see that snow start off as rain and then it changes in the back side of the storm. so most of today, it's okay in new york city but then it turns into tonight. we do are blizzard warnings in the bright pink here. that's an area where we could end up with two feet of snow. there's only really been four snowstorms with two feet of snow in boston. this could be the fifth one and a crippling storm. >> living up to the label historic. >> absolutely. turning now to california where a massive manhunt has the los angeles area on virtual lockdown. the lapd even putting extra security at their headquarters because the spblgt used to be one of their own. christopher dorner is wanted in multiple shootings spanning six days. the 33-year-old said he's declaring war with the lapd

after losing his job. according to his late and rambling manifesto, he wants to revenge until his name is clear. he writes the violence of action will be high. i will bring unconventional and asymmetrical warfare. dorner is accused of killing a couple and shooting at two police officers killing one of them. his vehicle was found in the big bear area, so far no sign of the man police describe as armed and dangerous. nbc's stephanie stanton has more from los angeles. >> reporter: this burned out truck belonging to suspect christopher dorner was found in the mountains two miles east of los angeles. but dorner himself was nowhere to be found. >> dorner is considered armed and extremely dangerous. >> reporter: dorner posted aing lengthy manifesto on facebook

detailing threats against police officers he intended to kill. dorner claims he was treated unfairly when fired from the l.a. police department in 2008. he filed a wrongal termination case against the lapd but lost the case. >> the people with whom he had agreements were fair game and so were their families and so were any other police officers on and off duty. >> reporter: the killing spree began with a double homicide in orange county. the daughter of a former lapd captain was killed along with her fiance. and then he shot and killed an an officer and killed one. police mistakenly shot and wounded two women delivers newspapers when officers thought they spotted dorner's truck. >> of course he knows what he's doing. we trained him. he's also a member of the armed

forces it's extremely worrisome and scary. >> reporter: stephanie stanton, nbc news, los angeles. it was a day of heated question for the man president obama wants to head the cia. john brennan was pressed hard on the use of drones and enhanced interrogation techniques by members of the senate intelligence committee. government memos leaked earlier this week showed drones had been cleared for use against u.s. citizens suspected of working as u.s. terrorists. nbc's tracie potts is live. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, everyone. in his hearing, brennan strongly defended the use of drones but he distanced himself from questionable interrogation tactics used on terror suspects. >> truth, the full truth and nothing but the truth. >> reporter: it looks like john brennan is gaining the support of several lawmakers, on drone attacks and even americans. at least three killed so far.

>> any american who did that should know well that they in fact are part of an enemy against us and that the united states will do everything possible to destroy that enemy to save american lives. >> reporter: drones are used against imminent threats, he said, not as payback. but some are still concerned if it's legal and asked what if the cia takes out the wrong person. >> we've got to see, any and all, of those legal opinions, the ones that the bipartisan group of senators asked for before the vote. >> would that individual please -- >> reporter: protests prompted lawmakers to clear the room just as brennan was getting started. >> i also believe it's important for you to set the record straight. >> reporter: brennan also tells lawmakers he objected to questionable interrogation tactics. >> waterboarding is something that's irreprehensible and shouldn't be done.

>> he was honest, he was forthright and answered the question. >> he's the guy for the job and the only guy for the job. >> reporter: mex week, the panel meets to discuss classified material. of course, that classified material now includes the administration's legal justification for using those drones. >> thanks so much. don't panic but our planet is about a week away from a close encounter of an extraordinary kind. the asteroid with the not so sexy name of 2012 da14. nasa says it will whiz by the earth at a safe distance of 17,000 miles but beneath orbiting satellites. british researchers are warning of the effects of a solar superstorm which they expect to happen soon. unlike minor flare-ups, experts caution this could cause blackouts, cripple mobile phones. stay tuned for that.

turning back to the top story, the massive wet winter storm bearing down. you hear words like record, historic being used. is this going to be as bad as it's shaping up to be? >> there's no reason for it not to. the models are in agreement, this is going to be a two-foot snowstorm in boston and that's what's going to make it such a record-breaking storm. you don't get two-foot storms right in boston itself. we have torrential downpours across virginia, across north carolina. all of that is running into very cold air that you sitting across new england. and that's why we are going see those blizzard warnings indicating that we could see a crippling snowstorm. not just the snow telephone. but boston picks up 24 to 32 inches. and power outages as well. that's a look at your national forecast. now here's a peek out your window. in philadelphia, again, we're looking at a wintry mix.

not a whole lot of accumulation. not much in philadelphia. again, just the back side of the storm. tampa, florida, looks good, sunshine today, topping out with a high of 74. so this storm is certainly something we're going to keep an eye on throughout the day. but the height of the storm all across the northeast is tonight into early saturday morning. >> it's a good thing it's on the weekend. defense secretary leon panetta's rough almost last day on benghazi. plus, david beckham's last for foray into the real word. that's on "early today" returns.

welcome back. here are some other stories making news this morning. while being grilled by the senate armed services committee outgoing defense secretary leon panetta strongly defended the pentagon's response to the attack in benghazi that left chris stevenson and three others dead. there just wasn't enough time to

get attack aircraft to the scene. today, president obama will speak at a farewell dinner for panetta. he will be replaced by chuck hagel if replaced by the senate. and michelle obama plans to travel to chicago to attend the funeral for 15-year-old hadiya pendleton. a band student and honor opportunity who participated in the inauguration festivities. hadiya was the victim of gun violence last week. fatally shot about a mile from the obama home. wall street is bracing for a blizzard. keep an eye on linkedin today. the professional social media network shot up 10%. thanks to earnings that dealer doubled. boeing stocks go higher. federal investigators have given the green light to testing of the dreamliner. we'll see how apple fared

day after. david iron horn called the company out for the bailout of cash. apple said it's consider the proposal of shares. they could build a stack of dollar bills. 9,000 miles high. they could foot the country's education bill for two years. they could give every apple employee a $1.7 million bonus. or better yet, give every american a check for $437. back to the real world where hewlett-packard is following in apple's footsteps and posing new limits on the students and temporary workers in their china factory. and bank of america got in on this, winter storm. and the blue brew is bringing it back to the singer

aisle with justin timber lack. and if david beckham hasn't claimed he did all the stunts for his new h & m underwear commercial, we wouldn't have to show it to you. but he did say he liked getting to do all the stunts. he said bloggers have been poring over the 30-second spot. and the verdict is becs did include use a body double. check this out. a two-lane plow. plus, no snowstorm can stop the madness of the most pampered and primped pooches on the planet. the dog show comes to new york. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. now to some other stories that caught our eye this morning. we start in florida where a 70-year-old woman lost control of her suv and plowed through a restaurant window just as it was getting ready to open. a very agile bartender inside was able to leap out of the way and he sustained only minor injuries. in michigan one snowplow definitely sweeps away the competition. the new toy for engineers looks like a trailer that swings around to clean two traffic lanes at once. it's half the price of normal plows. in new york, almost 3,000 dogs and owners are primping for the prestigious westminister dog

show. the dogs need a bit of relief after being in style. we begin with sports. a fantastic finish illinois against indiana. >> and they pull off a last-second miracle here at home. how about that! are you kidding me! >> he got it! knocked off number one indiana. >> the fighting illini fought back with were a 13-2 run in the closing minutes to stun the hoosiers. next to missouri's and texas a&m. aggies down one with seconds on the clock with the crushing three-pointer and the win over missouri, 70-68. next to the nba an an east versus west rivalry, the team, the lakers and the celticses.

and jeff green laid a nasty block on antoine jamison. and paul pierce put the icing on the third quarter with a transition. celticses, 115, lakers, 95. and finally super bowl colin kaepernick decided to add new ink to his chest. you can see the use of serious artwork on his pecs, shoulders and neckline. just imagine if he won the game. "early today" sports is brought to you by just for men autostop. gray is over. just ahead, a leaked memo tells rock stars, musicians and singers not to show too much skin. this you deputy heagot to hear. that's coming up next.

good morning and welcome back. we are focusing on this storm. a storm that is slowly going to spread snow into the northeast gradually through the day. although in new york city it will mix with and eventually change over to rain before it ends as snow. and very intense snow later on tonight. minneapolis, about 21 degrees today. and most of the great lakes already is done with the snow that moved through the area. chicago will clear out today, making up for some of the airport delays we had yesterday. 32. and then in new york city again, we are going to see the rain change back over to snow later on tonight. the height of this storm is really tonight into early tomorrow morning in the northeast. >> thanks so much. if you're looking for a comedy this weekend, you really

only have one choice. jason basteman and melis ka mccarthy star in "identity thief." if you're dieing to bring back that loving feeling with goose and maverick you can check out "top gun 3d." james kronwell was arrested for bursting into a board meeting. the actor along with peta were protesting the use of cats in experiments. and here's bill murray sporting fantastic facial hair at a celebrity golf match. the caddyshack star slices and eventually lays down in a sand trap. while the premiere of the "the walking dead" and the grammy awards air sunday night, access hollywood asks what will you be watching. it's neck and heck. and finally the grammy awards are telling the guests to

keep their breasts and guests to cover up. thong-like costumes are also a no-no. telling artists not what to wear is setting yourself up for failure. the uk some radio researchers looking to create a reptilian move. it seems like an odd place for a private concert by a best-selling pianist, but it's in the name of love. researchers are hoping 73-year-old dirk will mate with his compa companion. he is 70, and he has three female companions? >> yeah, that's a good point. he's a grumpy old man. >> he's a turtle. >> i'm mara schiavocampo, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

>> you're watching wbal-tv 11. live, local, late-breaking. this is 11 news today at 5:00 a.m. >> good morning. 4:56 on a friday morning. it has started. it is the storm with the potential to have historic proportions for new england. mostly rain at the airport, 34 degrees. northeast winds at 5. these are pretty quiet

conditions. this storm system will be mostly a rainmaker for baltimore. north of us, snow starts to filter into the picture. it is a coastal and it will remove it up the coast later today. >> 4:57. 34 degrees at the airport. >> team coverage of the storm system. >> salting operations already under way. monitoring the road temperatures. a live report is next. >> heavy snow is on the way. >> we are keeping a close eye on the area roads